I hear ya. It's about $300 Canadian.

I ended up building my own ring. Wanted it to be aluminum, since I knew I was going to have a weight problem up front. Couldn't find tubing for a decent price, so ended up using tubing from a fishing net from Walmart, aluminum crossbow bolts, and Alumiweld (basically a very high temp solder for aluminum...almost brazing temps).
Did the "fill tube with sand" to bend it, and then soldered on stubs cut from the crossbow bolts. Seems to work decently, has a better tone than stock and directs the mess to a single point. Added on a pressure tap.

Also did my gas conversion by 3d printing a sensor mounting block and magnet ring, and using a Rcexl 5 cylinder ignition. Trying to keep this on the low cost side. Muffler cost me less than $40 USD, and the ignition was under $200. Running the stock carb with muffler pressure....we'll see how well that works once in the air.

D.

Ch 5 cyl cdi
 

Guys I am a bit confused....( does not take much these days...LOL ) To whom I promise a CDI and I did not kept my promise. BJ or Nige.
If I promise that is bond that soon or later I fulfill... with so many things I forget things and it is not intentional.
Please let me know and I will take care of it.

Thank you
Adrian

Hi Adrian,

I purchased my CDI ignition kit from you about 2 or 3 months ago, thank you :).

I think BJ was the one that was promised one a while back.

Here's a shot of my 3d printed sensor mount. The magnet ring was printed as well, with the magnets easily spaced the correct distance apart in the 3d modelling software. The magnets were glued in with epoxy and the ring is a slip fit with a small screw to hold the position (after the requisite timing).

D.

300 Bucks... AUS..?

Are you kidding me?

I paid nowhere near as much as that - delivered.

What's changed?

BJ:)

Remember the Aussie dollar has dropped. From Keleo, they want $225 USD. Doing a direct conversion using XE.com that is $295 AUD plus shipping

darkith:Your exhaust collector ring looks great! :)

Maidened my Stearman with the ASP400 in it. Gas conversion with the stock carb plus muffler pressure, rcexl CDI and plugs. 20:1 gas/oil mixture.

I ran it with the vent/drain plugged (short length of tubing plus a screw), which forced the excess oil out around the pushrod tubes. Based upon the amount oozing out around the tubes, there's plenty of oil making it's way into the crankcase via blowby, and then up into the cam chest. (I did pre lube the engine based upon others experiences/recommendations in this thread)

Quite happy with my radial! Thanks to all those who shared info on this lovely little gem of an engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wtx...ature=youtu.be

D.

Have you posted the 3D print files for your rcxel ignition to share anywhere? I have that ignition for mine and think that is a great idea.

Your engine sounds great with the pipe. Can't wait to finish my Stearman and get it up in the air.

That's what I'm still not sure about - whether to run with the drain/vent closed or open. I have done the mod to allow me to pour oil onto the crank and cam and have fitted a couple of pressure fittings with have a piece of fuel tubing running between the two points. Looking forwards to running my motor up again. I have the choke sorted so I am hoping I won't need to use the electric starter on it.

I know there's conflicting stories on this... but.. IMHO.. the ASP 400 engine is meant to be run with the drain/vent pipe OPEN.

Feel free to disagree.. and let us know why you decide to do it either way.

My ASP 400 manual states that the drain-pipe must be OPEN during engine running - and if this is indeed a copy of an OS cyl radial... what do *they* say re the drain pipe?

Cheers,

BJ:)

The OS engine has two nipples. One is a drain plug and one is a vent. The vent should always be open but the drain should be closed when running. My OS FF240 has the same setup. As the ASP has only one plug i guess it should be left open but to be honest i doubt it really matters

I have an OS FR5-300 and it definitely has only one nipple between cylinders 3 and 4. No side nipple. Perhaps older engines had two nipples? Mine was bought in late 2007. Even my IL-300 has only one nipple.

In any case, even if the plug is closed, the crankcase is not sealed: at the very least the front bearing will allow some leakage, as it is a shielded bearing, not a sealed one. Actually, at least on my engine, the front bearing is a single shielded bearing, so it's even less capable of containing any kind of pressure than a "regular" double shielded bearing.
Indeed, when I run my engine with the drain plugged, I regularly find some oil dripping down from the front bearing.

Since lubrication in the nose of the engine seems a weak point for both the FR5-300 and the ASP 400, I think that the plugged drain may help push some more oil in the nose while the engine is running. The dripping nose testifies this IMHO

Attachment 2221920

Page 15 explains the situation with the nipples. If your engine only has the one then clearly the instructions are out of date. I would agree that more oil forward cant be a bad thing.

Your Stearman weight
 

I forgot to ask before, but what is the weight of your Stearman and what prop are you using?

I ran my motor again today (no video though) with the Morris Mini Motors carb conversion kit. I have leaned off the main needle (default settings 4.5 high, 3.5 low, currently running 3 h and 2.5 l) and am getting a nice strong 5500 rpm with a 21x8 (Turnigy) wooden prop. I ran the fuel a bit low at one stage and had air being sucked up. With this leaner condition, the rpm spiked up to 7000 which was quite scary as it increased so quick.

Didn't see this question till just now...

Weighed it on my bathroom scale and it's coming in around 19 lbs dry, with questionable scale accuracy. I'm swinging a Zinger 20x8. I want to say that I was seeing 6700-6900 on it, but can't say for sure, it's been a while, and I could just be picking a number out of the air.
Mine hasn't seen much time yet, just a quick ground run to check ignition timing and carb settings, reset the valve clearances, and then I threw it in the air.

D.

Meant to do this earlier, but here's the source scad files.
Need magnets, 2mm bolt & nut, longer crankcase bolt, and a drilled aluminum stud to epoxy into the bracket. (The crankcase bolt clamps this against the crankcase cover, and the sensor is pressed onto and epoxied to the stud so that no pressure is applied to the plastic).

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2499435

D.

Yup. The plug I used was just a loosely fitting screw anyway, so if there was any actual pressure, it would have popped out of the tubing on the nipple.

On single cylinder and boxer-twins, the nipple is a true vent and excess oil drain. Here, I think it's really just a drain for making sure oil doesn't build up over many flights. Where I'm running only 5% oil (gasoline 20:1), I figure it's safer to plug it and encourage the oil to push through the cam chest during operation, and then drain excess before storage.

D.

Thanks for that info Darkith. :)

My Ziroli 77" Stearman is probably going to come in close to 10kg (22 lb) but hoping I'm over estimating. I have weighted my test stand and then the fuselage with wings, wheels etc and it is about 20lb

I have run the motor with the vent plugged and unplugged. I feel more comfortable running it with it plugged as like you seeing the oil ooze out from around the push rod tubes gives me a bit of piece of mind.

I have been thinking of drilling the valve covers on each side, putting pressure nipples in and linking them all with tubing. It would allow us to add oil into all the rockers and if you vent this instead of the crank then that would allow more oil to make its way up the push rod tubes. It also adds a bit more scale realism :)

An easy way to oil the rocker boxes is probably a good thing, I'm planning on occasionally taking the cover off and giving them a squirt.
Not sure if oil would prefer to work it's way up the pushrod tube or just keep weeping out around the tube though, guess it would depend which was the "easier" path.

If it does work, it would be interesting to capture the blowby from the vent into a canister and see how much oil was working it's way through the system...

D.

Thanks darkith, Great work I will be printing this tonight see how it works out. Since I saw your post I now have a commercial quality Vertical Machining Center so I will print and test it then likely mill it out of aluminium and tweak if necessary now I have that ability. I had looked at machined ones on the net and never justify the price to buy those kits, not saying they weren't worth it as I know how much it costs to buy a CNC but your printed solution just seemed to adequately make sense after being able to buy the rcexel ignition at a good price.

I actually have 2 CNC benchtop mills (not commercial quality tho). I thought about milling it out of aluminum, but I'm going to wait and see how well the plastic (ABS) holds up (figure UV and oil exposure may degrade it).
Are you going to stick with the stock carb (with/without muffler pressure)? Or a walbro conversion? I've thought about a milling out an aluminum walbro adapter (plus delrin thermal insulator), but so far the stock carb has worked well with muffler pressure.

D.

I was recommended to run methanol instead of petrol or gas with the standard carb. I will start with that and see. I have been looking at the carb and intake mods people have been doing that is supposed to be better at evening up cylinder temps and smoother running but I think best to start then make changes step by step, that's half the fun anyway. What I haven't done is open it up and check the e clips on the rods--must do that!

Howdy all! I'm considering saving up for a radial of my own, which is tough, being 100% disabled now, but I'm serious! I've been in the hobby now for 30 years or so, and have always liked the "Round Sound" that only a radial can provide! My question, after reading this thread is: Since the O.S. and Saito 5-cylinder four-stroke radials are no more, is the Magnum/ASP a sound investment, or just a problematic "sound" investment? After all, it's a lot of beans to save up for, and I'd hate to be disappointed! Thanks in advance for your input, and Tom, that sure is an incredible engine that you and Magnum have created! (They should have done those things to start with, but then the price would be through the roof, as you've stated!) Blue Skies!

Space Cowboy (Steve Miller? :D)
The ASP 400 no doubt has been improved since I started this thread years ago. Heck, they even have it tumble polished now! I would not be afraid to buy one. I;ll tell you, I longed for a radial of my own for many years also. When I fired mine up on my test stand for the first time, with open pipes, the music from that engine stirred my soul to its very core! You cannot appreciate it the same by only watching and hearing videos. In person right in front of you, is just so delicious. Go for it! :)